Combating climate change, controlling greenhouse gas emissions and creating holistic yet practical sustainable development strategies are crucial in meeting the goals of sustainable development worldwide and allowing the human race to live in harmony with nature. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development, Chapter 8 of Agenda 21 encourages countries to develop National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) that synchronize and complement each country's economic, social and environmental policies and plans. Produced as a result of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, Agenda 21 is a comprehensive action plan that provides environmental guidance globally. In 1997, the Special Session of the United Nations' General Assembly again emphasizes the importance of NSDS and asks countries to formulate their NSDS by 2002. Further, the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) advocates countries to implement their NSDS by 2005. Recently, the United Nations Millennium Declaration urges countries to incorporate principles of sustainable development into national policies and programs (http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_nsds/nsds_index.shtml).
The importance of developing comprehensive NSDS that consider environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainable development is clear through various international agencies' meetings and declarations. However, there are issues with the current method of reporting NSDS and the format of exchanging sustainable development related information and/or public policies.